I’m aghast. Everyone on that team, from top to bottom, but especially at the the top, is to blame for this disaster. This team has me openly pining for the glory days of John Harrington, Dan Duquette, Joe Kerrigan, Mike Lansing, Dante Bichette and Carl Everett.

The Nick Cafardo column above on ownership is truly mind-blowing, (at one point, Nick turns the finger at the fans, saying we’re too spoiled around here) as is Gerry Callahan’s continued defense of Larry Lucchino.

Meanwhile, my Twitter feed last night during the game was more about the setlist at the Springsteen concert.

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Published by Bruce Allen

57 thoughts on “Local Media Burned Again on Red Sox Story”

Andy Gresh actually tried to defend Nick Carfardo, whose feet haven’t touched the ground in years when writing on the Red Sox. Nick wears a Red Sox beanie complete with propeller when not on camera and in my opinion, probably carries Ortiz’s travel bag when off duty.
Andy, you lost a great deal of credibility with the Nick Carfardo support today. he’s a major part of the problem, not the solution.

Has Joe Haggerty gotten to the bottom of why Tyler Seguin missed a morning breakfast in Winnipeg last year? Or did he just accept the team/players explanation that due to the time zone change, Tyler’s alarm on his smartphone malfunctioned? Is Joe’s twitter avatar still a photo of him looking adoringly at Seguin?

So if Haggerty was not on the Bruins beat, and did not appear to be a Bruins fanboy, then his truthful observations would be given more credibility? Look I am not his biggest fan either…however he is actually reporting things the guys I do respect (McAdam, Abraham) are deliberately not.

I don’t disagree that his hockey coverage is questionable but that does not disqualify the observations he is making about the Sox. The problem I have with people who want to shoot the messenger over this sox story is that they are missing the details of the story. Let’s not worry about Haggs hockey credentials right now… when he screws up a Bruins story let’s jump ugly on him. Right now he is out front of a Sox story no one else wants to cover…well not locally anyway.

The only fact he uncovered was that Lackey was double fisted after the game, unless you’re also uncluding that beer was in the clubhouse at all, to which he said himself he already knew after heswad embarrassed that he reported something that everybody else knew.

He reported that beer was in the clubhouse which was not known by the general public. We were then told by the state supported media that the policy all year was beer in the away clubhouse was fine. That was not how I understood Bobby V’s proclamation earlier this year. It seems to me the players do not take winning seriously. Management does not know how to foster an attitude change. If you want to ignore the story go ahead. I think it is another piece that explains the puzzle that is these Boston Red Sox.

But Haggerty himself said he knew beer was allowed on the road AFTER he flipped out about it and was embarrassed by the fact that he didn’t know. There is no question the Red Sox were coy about it, but that isn’t really the issue. The issue is that Haggerty just showed up in the Red Sox clubhouse a week ago, reported nothing but gossip, and then called out by name the people who are lacking journalistic integrity for not reporting gossip. Do you think Haggerty ever saw an underage Seguin having a beer in the Bruins locker room having a beer? Do you think he would ever report that? Or do you think he would instead opt to do a follow up piece on how beautiful Seguin’s condo is?

Haggerty is not the story in my mind…to make him the story misses the point. If after this is over you want to argue about how much of a tool Haggerty is I will be happy to sit on the sidelines and watch people pile on. The issue is the dichotomy of what the Sox ownership/management says and what they actually do.

Out front on what? He saw a guy with two beers in his hand? Period. He broke nothing Passan broke the story. Also, Haggs had a big stink with Minihane and accused Minihane of NOT BEING IN THE BRUINS LOCKER ROOM all year. He can’t have it both ways.

It’s more about him criticizing the writers on the beat for exactly what he does on the Bruins beat. But yeah, reporting that a guy on the 60 day DL who nobody likes to begin with was pounding beers after a loss is the work of Gayle Faye. This is nothing but a look atme phase from Haggerty. Go tell him on Twitter that you disagree with him and watch how fast he blocks you.

I am not arguing Haggs isn’t a tool. I am only saying that what he saw deserves to be reported and the fact that the beat guys are circling the wagons instead of trying to get to the bottom of why this team is not focused on winning is what is infuriating.

Also, Buster Olney reported this in his writing and on Twitter last night:

Sure enough, less than a week later, Joel Sherman of the New York Post became the first to make reference to the players’ discussion with their bosses: “Outside officials say
the clubhouse dislike for Bobby Valentine is so intense, players
lobbying ownership for a change is not an overstatement.”

More details are out now,
reinforcing for all to see the reality that has been in place for
months: The Red Sox players don’t want to play for Bobby Valentine, not
in the way that the Chicago White Sox want to play for Robin Ventura or the Los Angeles Dodgers want to play for Don Mattingly.

He’s right after reading Sherman’s post. Now, I guess Sherman is a “local beat guy” but also does some national stuff. How did a guy from New York get this (start the Bobby Valentine conspiracy theories here. I assume some folks might know the Post/Sherman/Valentine relationship and might fill in details)

Also, I heard Passan on this morning with Mike and Mike (it appears as if he was on D+C/T+R as well), he hints that there are many more details but he could not verify them, so he didn’t go to print with them, but hinted at a follow-up piece. Moreover, he said on all programs that he “sat” on the story for weeks verifying this. So, he didn’t just have some guy call him yesterday and hastily write a story that was rushed through editors to go hot. Again, why wasn’t any of this written about/asked about/discovered?

Unfortunately it’s the way sports journalism works these days. I’m not agreeing with it but I understand it. Guys who have team sources, player sources, don’t want to risk ripping the 1 guy that will give them insight, material, or a quote.

However, the blind loyalty that follows is disgusting. We only get these stories because the national guys don’t have to worry about these bridges being burned.

The players and local media with the idea that “he’s not in our locker room everyday” don’t realize how stupid they sound, so they continue to use this as a crutch defense.

I wonder who leaked the story to Passan, had to have been one of the 18 in the room.

No shocker here, has Callahan (and/or Dennis) ever said anything bad about one of their REGULAR interview guests?….Brady?..granted that’s a tough one but even after the RARE poor game from Brady they’ll throw him softballs and blame receivers/O-line/Belichick….Schilling? according to D&C he walks on water…Doc Rivers? “Oh, he’s so informative in OUR interview compared to boring Belichick/Big Show interview”….Brad Faxon?…if he wasn’t a regular guest they would be MOCKING him for not winning a tournament since the stone age……nope, continued defense of Larry Lucchino, doesn’t surprise me in the least.

So there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. On D&C this morning during the Jerry Remy interview John Dennis mentioned that the latest NESN ratings for the Sox were a 5 share down from an 8. That is a 37.5% decline in ratings which is huge. If there is anything that ownership understands it is how ratings on NESN directly effect their bottom line.

Three other things from that interview and the Jeff Passan interview that came 30 minutes earlier.

1) I lost all respect for Remy today when he called out Haggs for “not knowing the club’s policy on alcohol” and then “blowing up some beer on the raod into a non story”. Remy was spewing the company line…I get it. What he does not get is that while this team is losing, fans do not want to hear a technicality defended. They want results, they want players taking the game seriously as this is not rec league softball with a keg standing in for second base. Perhaps Remdog should be following the lead of Haggs rather than blindly accepting the bull pucky spewed to him by his “source” Dustin Pedoria.

2) Passan said there are more incidents and incidences that will come out because no one in Boston can stay quiet. Yet the beat guys are mind numbingly quiet. The herald does not have an ownership stake in the Sox so maybe it is time to release the Kraken?

3) John metaperiel’s defense of Larry Lucchino this AM was pathetic pandering. I get it, the morning show guys all like Larry and as such they do not want to be critical…well if you can’t call a spade a spade then I suggest they get out of the way. Same with Callahan who has no problem drumming up all sorts of bile, invective and acrimony for Penn State football but god forbid he can critically look at the state Sr. management has put the Red Sox in. It is so frustrating.

” What he does not get is that while this team is losing, fans do not want to hear a technicality defended.”

If a fan cares that a 33 year old man was drinking two beers after a game of baseball, they need to get a life. Remy was right because it isn’t a big deal. And don’t tell me it’s “perception.” That is the last defense of an emotionally immature shoe-peer.

Its not perception…it directly relates to the priorities of the organization. If ownership does not care how its players train, rehab, and take care of their bodies, because in the end winning is not important to them…then why should it be important to the fans who support the team. Remy was wrong, it is a huge deal. The organization is selling the notion that winning is tantamount that fans are important, yet its actions say differently. Trotting the mouthpiece of the organization out there to be indignant that people care about the lack of preparation or that maybe the athletes should be a little more aware of the message they are sending is exactly the wrong thing this organization should be doing right now. With the way they are hemorrhaging viewers and visits at the park, maybe they should be more appreciative of their fans and the way this is all presenting.

Taking a few minutes out of hours spent at the ballpark as an indictment of the team’s dedication is perception. Seeing a guy drinking beers is not indicative of his training, rehab, or preparation and is not cause for you to get your panties twisted. You don’t know what Lackey did the rest of the day. Show me the connection between his drinking and he lack of dedication to his rehab.

I know that whatever is going regarding training, preparation and rehab is not working. So if you want to believe that laughing at the fans while players continue to think a MLB clubhouse is the equivalent of a college frat house projects a winning mentality and work ethic…enjoy!

Read one book about ballplayers and you will find constant references to beer in clubhouses. Some of the greats, too, like Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford. Christ, the We Are Family Pirates smoked butts in the dugout and did blow like they were at Studio 54. You are so naive and silly. Having a beer at 10 PM after your workday is done has nothing to do with one’s work ethic or mentality.

Winning, I do think the Red Sox players have whined and bitched, but that does not mean that John Lackey’s beer is the cause or that it should be taken away.

You both are such whiny, idiotic ninnies who lap up every BS story the media and talk radio gives you. Before you go, just make the connection between John Lackey’s two beers and his supposed lack of dedication or the troubles with the Red Sox.

You’re right Rick. The RedSox players have shown so much class, dedication, and strong desire to succeed this year. Let’s throw them a kegger to celebrate all their success this year. WEEEEE, acid is fun!

1. You can’t get on guys like Remy or Gammons or anyone else that works for NESN. They have no choice but to spew the company talking points, since, ya know, they work for the TV station that owns the company.

On Point #1, I loved how Remy/Don were like, “Well, we don’t know if this story is true.. and if we take it as true” .. they spent more time basically saying Passan was some hack writing on a blog (might want to check what sand box you sit in there, boys). To mitigate this, however, they are just broadcasters and its not like they’re normal hard news/analyst.

NESN, also, on the pre-game hour, seemed to avoid the story for as long as possible. I think it took almost 15 minutes into the program, which they spent honoring Pesky (look, lets just skip the BS here and call this an obvious “executive programming decision”). CSNNE? Led with the story and went right to Haggs who was in Baltimore.

I’d be interested to see more on the numbers. Felger, the other week, mentioned something about NESN games being “semi-down” but NESN daily was down like 40%. I assume the games are starting to get hit in the similar way.

As to sources, quite a few have suggested Cherrington. I’ve even wondered if Bobby V is the source. Isn’t Bobby V on The Big Show today and also doing 30 minutes with Michael Kay in NY? However, his go-to guy seems to be Karl Ravech, and I assume he’d continue to use him because if Buster/TimK started breaking news on ESPN about clubhouse stuff that only he would know, they would know immediately it was him.

2.) Thought the same myself. Where are the folks who don’t have anything at stake here? Is the threat of having the BBWAA membership torn up really that big of a deal?

love all the glowing comments from many of Boston’s infamous sports hacks/clownboys as to Johnny Pesky’s “class and dignity” (which of course Pesky had) but I guess none of them took the lead from Pesky. Is anybody more UNdignified than guys like Felger, Shank Shaugnessy, Tony Mazz, John Tomase, Gerry Callahan, John Dennis, Ron Borges, Joe Haggerty etc..etc..etc. OH the irony!!

Can’t wait to hear guys like Rob Bradford and Alex Speier weigh in, especially after hearing the two of them argue — as they have all season — that the issues in the clubhouse are “overblown”, that “people would like this team if they were winning” and that “chemistry is overrated.” How many times do we have to hear Bradford continually show up every weekend and defend his buddies? The local Sox media beat is a JOKE, pure and simple. After reading as Bruce pointed out one more NATIONAL WRITER get to the bottom of something that nobody local dared to write (or knew about, whicheever), you wonder if some of these frauds haven’t been drinking the beer along with Lackey and friends.

MESSAGE TO ALL THE FANBOYS…THE LOCAL MEDIA IS NOT TO BLAME FOR THE SOX TROUBLES….IN FACT THE BASEBALL GUYS IN THIS TOWN ARE IN THE BAG FOR THE SOX…PLEASE STOP DIRECTING YOUR ANGER AT GUYS LIKE HAGS AND ACCEPT THE FACT THAT THIS TEAM YOU MAKE EXCUSES FOR IS A BUNCH OF OVERPAID BABIES WITH NO CLASS AND PROFESSIONALISM AND STOP BLAMING THE HOCKEY GUY FOR EXPOSING YOUR TEAM FOR THE JOKE THAT IT IS.

This professionalism you speak of, does it include knowing all the facts before you post something and than going back and changing it after your mistake is exposed and not issuing a retraction?
Love the puuka shell necklace and the prom picture with SEGS.

Hey Haggs, I mean Dan, Take a quick look at the name of the website you’re on there angry guy. It’s called Boston Sports Media Watch. One of the main points of the site is to offer fans a place to criticize the media when they mess up. As they often love to do to the athletes that they cover. Perhaps you would be more comfortable on a site like SOSH or another site, because I think you’re kind of missing the point of this one.

On a sidebar, since it’s a story I’ve posted about, awfulannouncing had a big post about the Comcast/FSN stuff. If you watched Dan Patrick or any regional sports (not the local CSNNE stuff) on CSNNE, this affects you:

Yeah, I sure have egg on my face. Did anyone here even report the meeting to begin with? That would be no. And who says it isn’t true? The players? John Henry? Larry Lucchino? Right, they are all bastions of credibility. The point remains that no one locally had a clue about this meeting until a national guy broke the story.

It was interesting that F+M (Bob Beers was in for Mazz) spent a good time talking about issues germane to this board/forum/site with the media. If you missed it, a quick summary would follow the post and many of the responses here.

And, while this issue gets lost/tossed around/dismissed, I still think it’s very relevant on why things seem to be so scant here when it comes to response/effort:

“That was a tremendous challenge. You could say Liverpool is an even bigger challenge than the Red Sox. Looking back at the day we bought Liverpool, I was trying to make a point then about how much of a challenge it was going to be because of the issues we inherited.”